'I feel like they killed one of my kids'

Thursday

Mar 13, 2014 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Standing at the dais during a City Council meeting last month, Gerilynn Aflleje told the sad story of Chunk, her rollicking dog who last year escaped through an open gate, landed at the Stockton Animal Shelter and was euthanized when the family could not afford the fee to bail him out.

Roger Phillips

STOCKTON - Standing at the dais during a City Council meeting last month, Gerilynn Aflleje told the sad story of Chunk, her rollicking dog who last year escaped through an open gate, landed at the Stockton Animal Shelter and was euthanized when the family could not afford the fee to bail him out.

"I had lost my job," Aflleje told the council. "I was not able to come up with that $180 in one day to get him out. They had to put him to sleep. I have six kids that truly loved that dog. He was part of our family. It's devastating."

The much-maligned shelter has found itself in an increasing glare in recent weeks.

Aflleje was among a series of speakers who blasted the shelter at the past two council meetings. An animal rights group filed suit this week against the south Stockton facility, alleging mass euthanizations and mistreatment of dogs and cats under its care.

And Mary Ann Cox, the chairwoman of a commission formed a year ago by Mayor Anthony Silva to study the problem, has accused the shelter of "illegal activities" similar to those contained in the lawsuit.

But the leaders of the commission also say they have solutions - low-cost and free improvements they say would dramatically reduce euthanizations, ease the suffering of animals, and boost the image of the city.

After studying the issue for months, commission members say they are expecting to meet with City Manager Kurt Wilson as soon as today and hope to soon present their recommendations at a City Council study session.

But commission members also said they are concerned the city is moving slowly on the matter because of the pending litigation.

» Having staff and volunteers make a more concerted effort to return missing animals to their families before they land in the shelter, and being more persistent about locating missing animals' families after they are impounded.

» Developing a comprehensive foster-pet program. "There are hundreds of people in this community who are willing to do that," Cox said.

» Making low-cost physical modifications to the shelter that would enable a greater number of adoptable animals to be seen by the public.

"Every time you adopt out an animal, there's revenue for that," Giraldez said.

» Removing the shelter from the authority of the Stockton Police Department and making it a separate city service. Commission members say cities with shelters that are not under police supervision tend to provide more effective animal services.

"When you have the shelter under the police department, it is harder, then, to prioritize it," Giraldez said.

» Encouraging community volunteerism, not so much at the shelter as in the community. Activities could include volunteers not only educating community members about the importance of spaying and neutering animals, but even driving working people's pets to veterinarians to have them fixed.

"The little things add up," said commission member Hannah Shaw, a University of the Pacific senior. "Small aspects add up to a better mind-set."

One thing commission members say is not urgently needed is a new shelter, even though the conditions at the current facility have been broadly criticized.

"If we end up with a palatial new shelter that's just a fancy new place to euthanize animals, we're nowhere," Giraldez said.

City officials declined comment on the commission's findings and recommendations because of the pending lawsuit. The allegations contained in the lawsuit, as well as many of the findings of the mayoral commission, are based on public-records requests.

In the case of Aflleje and her lost dog, she did not provide printed documentation of the shelter's handling of Chunk, her family's 4-year-old brown, black and white Siberian husky-American bulldog mix.

But shelter documents indicate that incidents in which lost animals are brought to the pound and euthanized when their owners cannot afford to bail them out are not unique. A review of 2013 documents found instances in which seven dogs belonging to five people were euthanized because the owners could not immediately afford to pay impound fees.

Aflleje and her husband, Robert Aflleje, say they had done everything right. Chunk had an implanted microchip with identification information, was up to date on vaccines and was neutered.

It took the family days of searching and calling veterinarians before they learned Chunk was at the shelter.

Robert Aflleje said he offered to pay a portion of the impound fee and pay the rest in installments to get his dog back.

"They wouldn't even take a little money," he said. "We were crying, pleading. Both of us had just lost our jobs."

It was to no avail.

"I feel like they killed one of my kids," Robert Aflleje said.

The couple has two other dogs. But Chunk is not at all forgotten.

"He was very friendly, one of those dogs that will lick you to death," Gerilynn Affleje said. "He never bit nobody. Never even tried."

Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or rphillips@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/phillipsblog and on Twitter @rphillipsblog.